This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Syria: U.S. boosting military support to opposition after chemical attacks confirmed

The United States has concluded that Syrian government forces used chemical weapons to kill at least 100 people, crossing a “red line” and prompting President Barack Obama to provide direct military support to the rebels for the first time, the White House said.

Members of a rebel group called the Martyr Al-Abbas walk in a damaged building in Aleppo. (MUZAFFAR SALMAN / REUTERS)

By Matthew LeeKaren DeYoung

Thu., June 13, 2013

WASHINGTON—The United States has concluded that Syrian government forces used chemical weapons to kill at least 100 people, crossing a “red line” and prompting President Barack Obama to provide direct military support to the rebels for the first time in the two-year conflict, the White House said Thursday.

“The president has said that the use of chemical weapons would change his calculus, and it has,” White House deputy national security adviser Benjamin Rhodes said.

Rhodes declined to provide an “inventory” or timetable for any military equipment to be sent, but said the assistance would be “responsive to the needs” expressed by the rebel command. He said the president had “not made any decision to pursue a military option such as a no-fly zone,” and that the United States will continue to seek a negotiated peace settlement.

Syria’s outgunned rebels issued urgent appeals this week for anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry to counter a government offensive that is backed by Hezbollah and Iranian forces.

Article Continued Below

Until now the United States has limited its assistance to nonlethal supplies and aid such as communications gear, food and medical supplies. In a conference call with reporters, Rhodes declined to detail the types of “military support” that would be provided.

“Suffice it to say this is going to be different in both scope and scale,” he said.

But three U.S. officials said Obama has authorized sending weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time, the Associated Press reported. The officials said the administration could provide the rebels with a range of weapons, including small arms, ammunition, assault rifles and a variety of anti-tank weaponry such as shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenades and other missiles.

However, no final decisions have been made on the type of weaponry or when it would reach the rebels, according to the officials, who insisted on anonymity.

Rhodes said Obama would consult allies about the specifics of the new shipments at next week’s G8 summit in Northern Ireland. The sessions will also be attended by Russia, the Syrian government’s main international ally and arms supplier.

Rhodes said U.S. officials had briefed Russia on what U.S. intelligence agencies said was a “high confidence” assessment that chemical weapons had been used the nerve gas sarin “in small quantities” on at least four occasions this year.

There is no reliable evidence that Western-backed rebels in Syria have used chemical agents, as Syrian President Bashar Assad claims, the White House said in a statement.

Thursday’s announcement came after an interim determination in April that chemical weapons were likely used in Syria. Obama said he wanted further evidence before deciding what to do next, in part because of the lesson of Iraq, where inaccurate U.S. intelligence indicated Saddam Hussein’s government had developed weapons of mass destruction.

“Following a deliberative review, our intelligence community assesses that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year,” a White House statement said. It said between 100 and 150 people are estimated to have died as a result of chemical weapons.

Earlier this month, France and Britain each said tests they had conducted on samples taken from Syria were positive for sarin, and a UN team said it had “reasonable grounds” to suspect small-scale use of toxic chemicals in at least four attacks in March and April.

Pressed on what the United States would do next, Rhodes said the White House would share the information with Congress and U.S. allies but will “make decisions on our own timeline.”

The European Union has already lifted an embargo that had blocked weapons for the rebels.

Canada’s position so far has been to not send military aid to Syrian rebels. A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said late Thursday that Canada is examining its position in light of the latest development.

“We are deeply troubled by the conclusions of the American investigation,” Joseph Lavoie, Baird’s director of strategic communications, told the Star in an email. “We are consulting with our allies on a response.”

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com